The New Zealand Initiative

In this episode, Oliver has a conversation with a special guest Viktor Vavricka, the Swiss ambassador to New Zealand. They have a wide-ranging discussion about localism from a Swiss perspective.

Oliver and Matthew discuss NZ's infrastructure deficit, delivery and management which was the subject of Matthew's last column in the NZ Herald "Deficit obsession ignores abysmal state of Kiwi infrastructure delivery". You can read Matthew's article here: https://www.nzinitiative.org.nz/deficit-obsession-ignores-abysmal-state-of-kiwi-infrastructure-delivery

In this episode, Eric talks to Danyl Mclauchlan, one of NZ's top political writers who is often featured in The New Zealand Listener and on Substack. He has written recently on turmoil in Wellington's pipe network and writes more broadly on the state of politics and the state of the polity. They have a wide-ranging chat about all of this as well as housing and heritage. www.nzinitiative.org.nz

Non-academic staff outnumber academic staff in NZ universities. Recently, we found the point in time when this happened. Oliver talks to James about our latest research note, "When the Bloat Began: Non-Academic Staffing at New Zealand Universities over the Long Run (1961-1997)", authored by James and Michael. They discuss this new research note, a few of the theories on why this has happened, and some of the key findings of the report. You can find this report on our website at www.nzinitiative.org.nz

In the past, competitors could stop each other's projects through land-use planning. Although some of that has been dialled back, it's coming back in other ways. Eric talks to Kevin Counsell, Director at NERA, who has a lot of experience with these processes. www.nzinitiative.org.nz

Last week, Oliver and Roger sat down to talk about the Supreme Court's decision on the Mike Smith climate change case. www.nzinitiative.org.nz

Oliver talks to Professor Francis Greene from the University of Edinburgh Business School about entrepreneurship. They have a fascinating conversation about entrepreneurship as an idea, as a function and as a part of economics. They also talk about entrepreneurial people and the role AI plays now and in the future. www.nzinitiative.org.nz

This week, Eric talks to Marko Garlick and Eleanor West, formerly of Generation Zero and now co-ordinating City for People, about the Independent Hearing Panel's process and the review. They also discuss what's been going on in Houston, housing affordability and density and other research. You can find links to their research at: www.nzinitiatve.org.nz This research includes: • City for People’s five requests for the Wellington district plan • Eric’s “Yes, and…” request for the Wellington district plan • Ryan Greenaway-McGrevy’s work on Auckland zoning and house prices • The Urban Land Markets Group’s work on housing affordability and urban planning. • Eleanor West & Marko Garlick on Upzoning New Zealand, at Works in Progress • Marko Garlick on Houston’s opt-out form of upzoning. • Eric's NZ Herald article, "The incapacity of development capacity" www.nzinitiative.org.nz

In this episode, Oliver had a unique discussion with marine scientist Dr Regina Eisert via Starlink en route from Antarctica to NZ. They talk about Regina's experience in Antarctica as well as biological and research links between NZ and Antarctica, NZ research funding and who gets to go to Scott Base, NZ's Antarctic research station. www.nzinitiative.org.nz

Our Research Fellow Max Salmon talks to our Executive Director Dr Oliver Hartwich about our current global foreign policy situation. They talk about the Middle East, such as the shipping through the Red Sea and the Houthi movement. They also discuss the Doomsday Clock, Ukraine, Taiwan and the United States. www.nzinitiative.org.nz